Baby Boomers Might Not Enjoy Golden Years Like Today`s Seniors

Senior citizens often don`t realize how wealthy they are, several South Florida financial planners say.

Planner Kay Silsby of Raymond James and Associates of Lighthouse Point said she sometimes has to practically order senior citizen clients to start enjoying their money.

``They`ll call me up and say, `I did it! I`m going to California for a week,``` and I`ll say, `Why didn`t you go for three weeks?` ``

Senior citizens enjoy discounts ranging from half-price fares on the county bus system to free checking accounts at local banks and thrifts. Yet statistics today show that as a class, senior citizens are more wealthy than is generally perceived -- and that`s probably even more true in South Florida, haven for retirees who can afford to live where they want.

The popular image of senior citizens as poor contrasts with that of Baby Boomers -- those born between 1945 and 1965 -- as yuppies driving BMWs and eating salads laced with raspberry vinegar dressing. Will Baby Boomers have as good a standard of living when they retire as the senior citizens of the 1980s -- their parents -- do today?

``Absolutely not,`` said Tom Powers, chief economist with Goodkin Research Corp. of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. ``We are less well off today than our parents, although we make more money.``

A unique set of circumstances combined to make today`s seniors, as a class, more affluent than is generally realized, Powers and others argue.

A new study, ``Midlife and Beyond,`` funded by CBS Inc. and prepared by The Conference Board`s Consumer Research Center, calls today`s younger senior citizens -- and those who will turn 65 before the end of the century -- ``the new old.``

While their own parents spent much of their earning years in the relatively low-wage era of the 1920s or the Depression, ``the new old`` earned their money in the post-war era, a time of unprecedented economic growth and affluence, the study said.

Baby Boomers will be unlikely to duplicate the advantages today`s seniors enjoyed:

Education: The bread-winners among today`s senior citizens got inexpensive educations through the GI Bill. They were the first generation of college graduates, and they rose quickly through management ranks in a booming economy. In contrast, Baby Boomers find competition increasing for raises and promotions. Younger Baby Boomers in particular find their way up the ladder blocked by older Baby Boomers, now in their mid- to late-30s.

Housing. Many senior citizens retiring today bought homes in the 1950s and early 1960s with inexpensive mortgages. They then had a windfall in the 1980s when they sold the homes, which had increased in value enormously during that time.

Cindy Burgess` parents live in a house that has appreciated in value from $5,000 to $175,000 in more than 40 years. But the home that Burgess, 36, who operates Groomingdale`s, a Tamarac dog grooming shop, bought five years ago for $54,000 is only worth a few thousand more today.

The laws of supply and demand say Baby Boomers won`t see the same housing windfall when they retire that their parents did, according to Powers. Housing prices soared because huge numbers of Baby Boomers needed homes. But in the early 21st century, when those Baby Boomers look to sell their homes and retire, they will be selling to children born in the 1980s, a much smaller market.

Employment: The corporate life was more stable. Today, former bastions of stability such as AT&T are laying off thousands of workers at a time. Baby Boomers end up changing jobs more frequently, which costs them the ability to accumulate pension benefits. Or they work for smaller firms, which have smaller pension plans, or none at all.

Social Security: Whether Social Security will still be around for Baby Boomers when they retire is a matter of debate. A survey by Yankelovich, Skelly and White Inc., a market research firm, found that 73 percent of Baby Boomers surveyed said they had little or no confidence in the Social Security system. But a Social Security Administration official cited a federal study that said changes Congress made in 1983 assured the stability of the system into the year 2045.

Mike and Kathy Ryan of Pompano Beach are planning carefully, because they don`t believe Social Security will be there for them when they retire around the year 2020. Kathy, 30, is an investigator for the Internal Revenue Service, and Mike is a waiter and professional volleyball player while he makes plans to set up his own business.

Until about two years ago, they thought they were doing really well planning for retirement. Then they had a daughter, Nikki, and now their two incomes are divided between saving for retirement, a home and Nikki`s college education.

``If we have any extra money, we both think, `That`s Nikki`s,` `` Mike, 31, said. ``The projections (for future college tuition) are really unbelievable; you`re talking about $120,000 a year.``